PAL pension decries gap in financial literacy, skills

Pensions Alliance Limited, otherwise called PAL Pension, has decried the gap in financial literacy and employability skills in Nigeria, especially among the younger generation.

Speaking in Abuja, where the company trained students of the University of Abuja on key skills that would address the trend, the Head, Brand Management and Corporate Communications, Sunmisola Mark-Okoma, said the dearth of some basic financial skills is affecting overall life goals of individuals.

“A lot of people work, make money, but at the end of the day, they don’t have anything to show for it. You need set of skills to make money and another to make the money work for you,” she said at the event titled NEXTU. Mark-Okoma insisted that Nigerians need to improve on skills that would not only address the gap, but offer real life experience in career, finance, entrepreneurship and entertainment.

She said getting a job may not address some of the challenges the workforce face in the country, unless people are prepared for the eventualities.

“PALPensions is always interested in ways to impact the society positively. This is why we started the NextU project: a project that aims at guiding young people through career choices and financial literacy.

“Basically, we are telling them that PAL Pensions would provide them with the support they need to become whom they want to become. University of Abuja is the second of three schools we would be adding to the Network this year,” she said

According to her, the organisation is expanding the NEXTU platform to include “The NEXTU Academy”, which would combine theoretical business and graduate school training with practical workplace skills to raise ready graduates.With the event, University of Abuja would join University of Lagos, University of Benin, University of Port Harcourt, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ahmadu Bello University and University of Nigeria who are already on the network.

While speakers such as Vincent Egbe, Laura Ikeji-Kanu, Tomi Balogun and Mark Essien were the frontline speakers that mentored the students at the event, the panellists who came from various backgrounds representing; financial literacy, investment, employability, career growth, entrepreneurship and tech and art and creativity and new media; gave the students’ tips on how to be successful in their career and business, manage funds and invest wisely with small funds.